Michael Fawcett resigns from The Prince’s Foundation after accusations he offered to help secure a knighthood for Saudi donor
A former aide to the Prince of Wales has resigned as chief executive of one of Charles’ charities amid an alleged cash-for-honours scandal.
Michael Fawcett and his party planning company will also no longer be providing services to Clarence House, a spokesperson said.
Continue reading...Lowering high blood pressure may slash the risk of the disease in millions of people in future
Blood pressure drugs could prevent millions of people worldwide from developing type 2 diabetes, a large study suggests.
Lowering high blood pressure is an effective way to slash the risk of the disease in the future, according to the research published in the Lancet.
Continue reading...Tiernan Darnton confessed to friends during truth-or-dare game and later to counsellor, jury heard
A student has been convicted of murdering his 94-year-old step-grandmother three years after an inquest ruled she was the victim of an accidental house fire.
Mary Gregory was discovered under a table in the conservatory of her smoke-filled bungalow in Heysham, Lancashire, in May 2018 and died four days later in hospital.
Continue reading...‘Significant milestone’ paves way for families of 157 victims of 2019 crash to seek compensation, say lawyers
Boeing has admitted full responsibility for the second crash of its 737 Max model in Ethiopia, in a legal agreement with families of the 157 victims.
Lawyers for the families said it was a “significant milestone” for families to achieve justice.
Continue reading...Concerns grow that Boris Johnson has already decided to trigger article 16 of Northern Ireland protocol
The EU’s Brexit commissioner will tell David Frost that negotiations over Northern Ireland are doomed to fail unless he drops an “unattainable” demand over the role of the European court of justice.
At a meeting in London on Friday, Maroš Šefčovič will warn the UK’s Brexit minister, Lord Frost, that Downing Street needs to “take a step” towards the EU for the talks to be “meaningful”.
Continue reading...Duchess of Sussex apologises for misleading court, stating she forgot she had authorised PR chief to brief Finding Freedom authors
The Duchess of Sussex has apologised in court for failing to remember authorising a senior aide to brief the authors of her and Harry’s unofficial biography.
Meghan submitted a statement to the court in which she said she could not remember emails between her and her then press secretary, Jason Knauf, about the unauthorised book.
Continue reading...Brussels chief says US president agrees Britain should not ditch post-Brexit protocol
Ursula von der Leyen has claimed that the EU’s position on Northern Ireland has the support of the US president, as Brussels prepares a “ladder” of retaliatory options up to and including the suspension of the UK trade deal over Boris Johnson’s threats to ditch the current post-Brexit arrangements.
After a meeting at the White House, the European Commission president said Joe Biden was in agreement with the bloc that Johnson should not upend the tortuously negotiated Northern Ireland protocol.
Continue reading...US congresswoman posts video of herself sampling the drink at Cop26 after being given a can by Nicola Sturgeon
Cop26 is not short of controversial subjects, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has demonstrated she is not afraid to get stuck into the big questions: namely, would she like the Scottish fizzy drink Irn-Bru?
The bright orange drink has become the surprise curiosity of Cop26, and is on sale throughout the SEC convention centre due to a deal between building’s owners and drinks manufacturer AG Barr. Delegates from all over the world have been sharing their thoughts on its unique taste, with mixed reviews.
Continue reading...Agnes Wanjiru’s family instruct law firm to demand answers over her death
The family of a young Kenyan woman allegedly murdered by a British soldier almost a decade ago plans to sue the Ministry of Defence to demand answers over her death.
The body of Agnes Wanjiru, 21, was found in 2012 after she reportedly went out partying with British soldiers at the Lions Court hotel in the central town of Nanyuki, where the UK army has a permanent garrison.
Continue reading...Study says some individuals clear virus rapidly due to a strong immune response from existing T-cells, meaning tests record negative result
We all know that person who, despite their entire household catching Covid-19, has never tested positive for the disease. Now scientists have found an explanation, showing that a proportion of people experience “abortive infection” in which the virus enters the body but is cleared by the immune system’s T-cells at the earliest stage meaning that PCR and antibody tests record a negative result.
About 15% of healthcare workers who were tracked during the first wave of the pandemic in London, England, appeared to fit this scenario.
Continue reading...More than 90% also say they would test if they had symptoms, but poll finds mental health has deteriorated
Far from being irresponsible Covid spreaders, the vast majority of students at English universities have been vaccinated at least once and would request a test if they had symptoms, according to a survey.
Students’ wellbeing has suffered this autumn, however, with a third of those surveyed reporting that their mental health had deteriorated since the start of term, the report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) says.
Continue reading...Survey also finds majority of UK respondents believe fewer people care about Holocaust today than used to
Just over half of Britons did not know that 6 million Jewish people were murdered during the Holocaust, and less than a quarter thought that 2 million or fewer were killed, a new survey has found.
The study also found that 67% of UK respondents wrongly believed that the government allowed all or some Jewish immigration, when in fact the British government shut the door to Jewish immigration at the outbreak of the war.
Continue reading...Duke of Sussex says the term was created by a troll to describe their decision to quit royal duties, which was then amplified by the press
Prince Harry has said the word “Megxit”, used by the British press to describe the decision by him and his wife Meghan to quit their royal duties, was a misogynistic term.
He said the word was an example of online and media hatred. “Maybe people know this and maybe they don’t, but the term Megxit was or is a misogynistic term, and it was created by a troll, amplified by royal correspondents, and it grew and grew and grew into mainstream media. But it began with a troll,” Harry said. He did not elaborate.
Continue reading...Ex-Tory leader chaired government taskforce that recommended new rules benefiting firm he was employed by
Iain Duncan Smith is facing questions over his £25,000-a-year second job advising a multimillion-pound hand sanitiser company after he chaired a government taskforce that recommended new rules benefiting the firm.
The MP and former Conservative party leader chaired the Task Force on Innovation, Growth, and Regulatory Reform, which reported back in May after he and two other MPs were asked by Boris Johnson to recommend ways of cutting supposed EU red-tape.
Continue reading...Sajid Javid set to confirm to MPs decision to press ahead despite oppositions of unions and some doctors’ organisations
All 1.4 million NHS staff in England will have to be vaccinated against Covid by next spring if they want to keep their jobs, Sajid Javid will confirm to MPs on Tuesday.
The health secretary has decided to press ahead with making jabs compulsory despite health unions and some doctors’ organisations voicing strong opposition.
Continue reading...Mother pays tribute to ‘beautiful’ son attacked while out playing with a friend
A boy who died after being attacked by a dog in Caerphilly in south Wales while he was out playing with a friend has been named as 10-year-old Jack Lis.
Gwent police were called to the Penyrheol area of the town at about 3.55pm on Monday and confirmed Jack had died at the scene. The dog was destroyed by firearms officers, the force said.
Continue reading...Reports that British soldier confessed to Kenyan woman’s murder in 2012 have deeply affected relatives in Nanyuki
A vibrant sisal plant in a public cemetery on the outskirts of Nanyuki in Kenya marks the grave of Agnes Wanjiru, the woman allegedly murdered by a British soldier in March 2012.
It is easy to miss the grave due to heavy undergrowth in the unkempt cemetery.
Continue reading...Healthcare firm named in Owen Paterson lobbying scandal has won £500m in UK government contracts
As the Covid-19 pandemic swept towards the UK, a senior employee of the healthcare firm Randox addressed an audience of horse racing royalty, gathered amid the neoclassical splendour of St George’s Hall in Liverpool.
Randox, which had garnered a role within the “sport of kings” via its sponsorship of the Grand National, had developed a test for Covid-19, he told them.
Continue reading...Other cryptocurrencies such as ethereum also reach records as investors hedge against inflation
The bitcoin price has reached a new record high, breaking through $68,000 (£50,000), and analysts predict that the world’s best-known cryptocurrency will rise further in the coming weeks.
This beats the previous record high set in late October, when bitcoin reached nearly $67,700 before falling back again when investors discovered a new cryptocurrency, shiba inu. Other cryptocurrencies have also risen to record highs, such as ethereum, which soared to $4,837.
Continue reading...More than 90 Tory members do paid work on the side compared with very few Labour politicians, finds analysis
More than a quarter of Tory MPs have second jobs with firms whose activities range from gambling to private healthcare, making more than £4m in extra earnings in a year, Guardian analysis has found.
The register of MPs’ interests shows that more than 90 out of 360 Tories have extra jobs on top of their work in parliament, compared with three from Labour. They are overwhelmingly older and 86% are men. The highest earners were all former cabinet ministers.
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